Cabovis_o files complaint against Portuguese State

Portugal’s third largest cable operator Cabovis_o has filed a complaint in Brussels against the Portuguese State’s role in a €800 million credit line for investment in Next Generation Networks (NGN).

According to a company spokesperson, Cabovis_o formally requested that the European Commission examine whether there was “undue favouritism” to companies for the construction of fibre networks likely to distort competition in the market.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2009 between the Portuguese State and the European Investment Bank (EIB), a credit line of €800 million was established for investment in NGN by Portugal Telecom, Zon Multimedia, Sonaecom and Oni. The EIB provides half that amount, the remainder being borne by Portuguese banks and financial institutions CGD, BCP, BES as well as Spain’s Santander.

For its part, the Portuguese government argues that it merely encouraged an agreement between the banks and operators.

Cabovis_o is Portugal’s third largest cable TV operator, with a 9.6 per cent market share (behind Zon and Portugal Telecom).